The field of journalism is at a crossroads.  With the combination of traditional media (newspaper, television, and magazine) mixing with new media (Internet), there is a definite scare among journalists.  No one exactly knows what is going to happen in the future because of the growing capabilities of the World Wide Web.  Sales of newspapers and magazines have been decreasing each year with publications starting their own web sites.  Television broadcast news has also been losing viewers.  A study by the PEW Institute has indicated that a greater percentage of Americans find news on CNN.com and MSNBC.com more reliable than the nightly newscasts. With this in mind, a whole new world of journalism is upon us.

    Three years ago when I enrolled at Ohio University not many people were worried about the Internet taking over.   I began my freshman year as a broadcast journalism major.  I have since switched to public relations.  I feel very comfortable with my decision of switching majors. At first I was skeptical for many reasons and at the time I was not aware of the crossroads the field of journalism was facing.

    Public relations is a field that will always be needed.  The new media journalism world has no affect on PR.  If anything, the new media journalism opens up extra opportunities to those interested in PR.  Public relations people are still needed in all businesses. Press releases will always need written and companies and organizations will always need individuals to take care of their relations with the press and public.

    I feel very comfortable going into my senior year and taking one step closer to graduation from Ohio University.  E.W. Scripps, the journalism school here at Ohio University, ensures that students have a base of knowledge in all aspects of journalism.  I have taken classes that deal with all aspects of the journalism world and I feel very comfortable in such things as editing, ethics, news writing, and graphics layout.

    Because the future of journalism is up in the air, I feel that best route to insuring a solid future in the field is to be very knowledgeable in both traditional media and the Internet. Ohio University has noticed the change in media as well. EW Scripps is now offering web journalism classes to prepare students for the ever-changing profession of journalism. I am currently taking one of these classes this quarter and will be taking the advanced class next quarter.  This has opened my eyes to web journalism and I have taken quite an interest in it. This class has introduced me to the new side of the media.  There is no hiding the fact that the Internet is here to stay and the possibilities are endless when it comes to the World Wide Web.

    My three years at Ohio University I have gained more knowledge than I ever thought I would. I have made many decisions that will affect my career and I will make many more. I feel very confident in the direction that i am going and I am anxiously awaiting what comes next. Thanks to your constant support I am prepared to take the next step in my life upon graduation and searching for a job.

    The combination of public relations and the e-world open up many job opportunities across the US.  The knowledge that is involved in managing a web site and knowing the basic skills such as html is a skill that is looked very highly upon by possible employers.  All this added to the marketing and writing skills that I have equals a  rounded base of knowledge that any employer in any kind of business would love to have.  The Internet is the center of everything that happens so any kind of skills that mix both of these fields is a very big plus.

    The present job market offers a variety of positions based on experience, from entry level to management positions. Because Internet skills can be learned almost anywhere, a college education isn’t required but very helpful in landing that dream job.  Just like any job out there, the more experience that you have, the better opportunity you will get it.

    One of the more exciting aspects of a job such as this is that chagne is bound to happen.  Technology will continue to progress and the Internet will continue to grow.  A job in this profession would never get old. One would have to constantly learn the new techniques and further their knowledge on almost a daily basis.

    There aren’t specific titles for a public relations/ new media job. There are a variety of jobs that differ in many ways.  The Internet business is extremely lucrative and is growing at a very high rate.. The number of jobs is just amazing.  It is hard to put a certain set of requirements on anything in this field because of the endless possibilities that deal with journalism and the web today.
 

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